Public Service Announcements

FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENTS - PAGE 5

ELECTION JUDGES SOUGHT Lake County Public service announcements didn't work. Neither did speeches. So with their backs to the wall, Lake County officials have made another pitch in trying to recruit election judges for the March 16 primary. They've asked high school students to sign up. The county needs 2,800 judges, but so far only 1,800 have stepped forward. Lake County Clerk Willard Helander is making her appeal directly to the high schools and hopes the students will show other residents what civic spirit is all about.

Illinois Atty. Gen. Jim Ryan on Friday recorded two public service announcements to further publicize the state hot line for tips about potential school violence. The announcements will be sent to every radio station in Illinois for immediate airing, according to Ryan spokesman Dan Curry. They will run until the end of the school year. "Obviously everyone is in a state of heightened concern right now, particularly because there's fear the copycat angle will emerge," Curry said.

Chicago's WPWR-Ch. 50 hooks up with the Chicago Foundation for Women to create original programming and public service announcements for the next year as part of CFW's ongoing "End Violence Against Women and Girls" campaign. In January Channel 50 will broadcast a half-hour special on domestic violence as part of its "Power to Make a Difference" series. In April the station will air an hour-long special on teenage girls and violence. The station's charitable arm, The WPWR-TV Channel 50 Foundation, has supported the CFW for several years, but this is the first time it has done programming on this issue.

Chicago Public Schools officials on Wednesday are planning to hold a news conference to announce their campaign to recruit 10,000 candidates for the April local school council elections. Officials from the school and community relations department will unveil a series of posters and public service announcements that will be used to encourge people to vote in the April 17-18 election and to recruit parents and community representatives to compete for the 6,000 vacant seats. Candidates will be reminded to fill out applications during the March 1-27 filing period.

In 1986, scores of musicians participated in benefits to raise money for worthy causes and spoke out publicly against drug and alcohol abuse. Whitney Houston, New Edition and other performers teamed up to record an anti-drug single, "Stop the Madness"; rock and Latin artists teamed up in anti-crack benefit concerts; and rap artists recorded songs warning of the dangers of crack. And, in perhaps the savviest salvo against drug and alcohol abuse, more than a dozen well-known performers signed up for an ongoing series of anti-drug public service announcements that debuted on MTV Nov. 21. The theory: Rock stars, with their rebellious images, can deliver messages that would be ignored if they came from conventional "authority figures."

Teen abuse of cough medicines is a more serious problem than many parents realize, manufacturers of the over-the-counter drugs said Thursday in unveiling a campaign meant to warn them. The Partnership for a Drug-Free America estimates one in 10 youths have used cough medicines made with dextromethorphan to get high. Ingesting huge amounts of the cough suppressant can produce a hallucinogenic high--along with side effects that include vomiting and rapid heart beat. However, the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America said a survey of its members suggested the drug abuse foes don't think parents recognize abuse of over-the-counter medicines as a youth problem.

Rap star Snoop Doggy Dogg was sentenced to three years of probation and fined $1,000 on Friday for being a felon caught with a gun. He also was told to record anti-violence ads. "It's cool not to use guns," the 25-year-old rapper, whose real name is Calvin Broadus, said outside court. Judge Jacqueline A. Connor also ordered three public service announcements, on the recommendation of Deputy District Atty. Robert Grace. "He was doing stuff on the news about trying to change his life," Grace said.

Jerome Joss, 89, a retired advertising executive in Chicago who created memorable advertising campaigns for the Sealy Corp. and the Purex Corp., died Sept. 28 in the University of California at Los Angeles Medical Center. A native of Minneapolis, Mr. Joss began his advertising career with the Schwimmer and Scott Advertising Agency in Chicago in 1933, and later worked for the Grey-North Advertising Agency in Chicago, where he became senior vice president. He also was deputy director for the U.S. Treasury Department's bond division for the state of Illinois, placing public service announcements with radio stations.

A 7-year-old Rochester, N.Y., girl featured in national television appeals for organ donors was reported in critical but stable condition Monday at the University of Chicago's Wyler Children's Hospital after an 11-hour liver transplant operation. The girl, Christina Wilson, appeared in public service announcements for the American Liver Foundation, which began running last month. The message includes a plea from Christina, saying, "Please help me." "The plea had nothing to do with it," said Dr. Peter Whitington, the hospital's liver-transplant director, when asked what effect the media exposure had on Christina receiving the organ.

First-day attendance at year-round schools in Chicago is up this year. Chicago Public Schools officials report that attendance for Track E schools, which began Monday, went up to 88.1 percent this year from 86.8 percent last year, even with the addition of 52 schools to the year-round schedule. About 120,000 students — or a quarter of the district — take classes on the year-round schedule. The remaining CPS students will begin Sept. 6. CPS spokeswoman Becky Carroll credited an effort that combined grass-roots initiatives such as phone banks and robocalls with social media such as Google and Facebook ads to get kids into school on the first day. This year, other city agencies also joined the effort, sending notices home with students in their summer programs, she said.